The current aging population estimated at 10,000 people a day turning 65 and will maintain this level for the next twenty years most with back, knee and hip replacements. These common age related problems make it nearly impossible for them to get up from a fall by themselves. They have to wait for several hours until they get assistance from a spouse or a friend who tries to lift them but may injure themselves in the process. This invention is for these individuals that have fallen and suffer no real injuries but need assistance in getting up. Most age 65 and up have downsized and have a much smaller living area. This light weight compact unit can be bolted to the wall in any corner and protrude less than 8 inches. With this unit the fallen person may crawl to the unit pull, down the seat, use the safety belt and push a button to raise themselves to a height of 24 inches without any assistance. In a larger area, a bolt on the carriage will make the same unit mobile giving the purchaser another option. With the increasing population rate, the percentage of elderly population is also on the rise every year. Most of the people in their elderly age require assistance for doing all sorts of basic work. Even for getting up on their own, they need some assistance from an external source. There is certain section of people who are unable to do any work based on their medical complications who also need assistance to getting their job done. Without any assistance, they have to face a lot of consequences such as physical injury, lower confidence and associated trauma, or even worse physical conditions. So there has to be a person assisting these people to engage them in day-to-day activities.
Instead of employing a person to take care of the disabled person, a specialized apparatus is always a better option in handling and maintenance. For instance, to lift a person from the ground surface needs and requires others energy and time, whereas this apparatus with the cutting edge technology can do the task much easier. There have been many attempts in the prior art for a lifting apparatus for the disabled person to assist them in most of the tasks, but they have their own limitations. Some of the apparatus have cumbersome designs and they are heavy and therefore are not portable in transportation. The operation of these other apparatus requires at least two persons to handle it efficiently.
Prior art reference U.S. Pat. No. 7,716,759 B2 discloses a patient transport apparatus wherein a frame having a base and a chair support with height-adjustable seat to lift a person. However, lining up the hooks on the back of the chair may push the person to fall from the chair and also the design is large. Another prior art reference U.S. Pat. No. 6,941,595 B1 discloses a portable lift seat to raise or lower a physically challenged user from a position on the floor to a standard height seated position. However, the apparatus comprises a fork system and is a cumbersome design which may injure the person.
The design for the seating plate is large in most of the cases which adds weight to the frame. Further, in some cases, a hand crank such as a manual winch and cable is used to lift the seating assembly and it requires at least two to three persons for operation. Seating assembly in the apparatus are not flexible enough to move along the frame to lift the person from ground surface. These apparatuses are not able to be fixed to the wall or to any mobile transport carrier.
In light of the aforementioned problems of conventional and traditional lifting apparatus, there exists a need for a lightweight, easy to use, portable or stationary apparatus to lift and or transport persons who are not able to get up from the ground surface.